Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-09-10

There was Il curious light in IpO'S eyes.
n his handsome face was set like 4 stone.
In his right hand was his heavy hunting
knife. He shifted Its thong q little up his
wrist, and then put his arm round me and
| gave me Il good hug.
Goodbye, old fellow" he said: my
dear friend my more than father. We
have no chance against those scoundrels;
they viii finish Us in q few minutes, and
eat US a~fterward, | suppose. Goodbye.
led you into this. hope you will forgive
me. Goodbye, job"
Gods will be done,'' ! said, setting my
teeth, rs ! prepared for the end. AT tia,
| moment, with an exclamation, job lifted
his revolver and fired, and hit a man-not
the man he had aimed at, by the way; any.
thing that job shot at was perfectly safe.
On they came with a rush, and l fired too
as fast as ! could, and checked them-be-
tween rs, job and | killed or mortally
| wounded five men with our pistols before
they were emptied, besides the woman.
But we had no time to re load, and they
still came on in n way that was almost
splendid ia its recklessness, seeing that
the; did not know but that we could go on
firing forever.
A great fellow bounded up upon the
platform and Leo struck him lead with
one blow Of his powerful arm, sending
the knife right through him. ] did the
same by another, but JOB missed his stroke
and | saw a brawny Amahaggcr grip him
by the middle and whirl him off the rock.
The knife, not being secured by n thong,
fell from his hand as he did so, and, by a
most happy accident for Job, lighted upon
its handle on the rock, just as the body of
the Amahagger, being undermost, hit upon
it's point, and was transtixed upon it.
What happened to job after that am sure
/ do not know, but my own impression is
that he lay still upon the corps of his de-
ceased as~sailant, playing 'possum," as
the Americans say. AS for myself, | was
socn involved in a desperate encounter
with two ruffians, who, luckily for me,
had left their spears behind them; and for
the first time in my life the great physical
power with which nature has endowed me
stood me in good stead. | had hacked at
the head of one man with my hunting
knife, which was almost rs big and heavy
as n short sword, with such vigor that
the sharp steel had split his skull down to
The eyes, and was held so fast by it that as
he suddenly fell sideways the knife was
twisted right out of my hand.
Then it was that the two others sprung
upon me. saw them coming and got an
arm round the waist Of each, and down we
al fell npon the floor Of the cave together,
rolling over and over. They were strong
men, but | was mad with rage, and that
awful Inst for slaughter which Will creep
into the hearts Of The most civilized of us
when blows are flying, and life and death
trcmblc on the turn. My arms V,re round
the two swatthy demons, and | Rugged
them till | heard their ribs crack and
crunch up beneath my grip. They twisted
and writhed like snakes, and clawed and
battered at me with their fists, but / held
on. Lying on my back there, so that their
bodies should protect me from spear
thrusts from above, | slowly crushed the
life out Of them, and as | did SO, strange
as it may seem, ! thought Of what the ami
able Head OF my College at Cambridge and
my brother Fellows would say if by clair
yoyarcc they could ccG me, of all men,
playing such a bloody game. Soon my as
sailants grew faint, and almost ceased to
struggle, their breath had left them, and
they were dying, but still | dare not leave
them, for they died very slowly. ! knew
tiiib IA 4 lcidAcu NY kip, buSy Noulu lc-
viye. The other rufiians probably thought
for we were all three lying in the shadow
of the ledge-that we were all dead togeth-
err, at any rate they did not interfere with
our little tragedy.
turned my head, and rs lay gasping
in the tlroes of that awful struggle could
see that Leo was OF the rock now, for the
lamp-light fell full upon him. He was
still on his feet, but in the center of asufg-
ing mass Of struggling men, who were
striving TO pull him down as wolves pull
down Il stag. Up above them lowered his
beautiful pale face crowned with its bright
curls (for Leo was six feet two high, and
] saw that he was fighting with a desperate
abandonment and energy that was at once
splendid and hideous to behold. He drove
his knife through one man-thcy were so
close to him and mixed up with him that
they could not get at him to Kill him with
their big spears, and they had no knives
or sticks. The man fell, and then some
how the knife was wrenched from his
hand, leaving him defenseless, and /
thought the end had come. But no; with a
desperate effort he broke loose from thom,
seized the body of the man he had just